Google, EarthLink, BlackBerry, and Red Hat have joined forces and asked the FTC and the US Department of Justice to address the harm caused by patent trolling. "Our comments today also focus on a worrisome trend: some companies are increasingly transferring patents to trolls - and providing incentives to assert those patents against their competitors. These transfers can raise rivals' costs and undermine patent peace. This trend has been referred to as patent 'privateering': a company sells patents to trolls with the goal of waging asymmetric warfare against its competitors." Big figures: patent trolls cost the US economy $30 billion per year.

I thought you had finally figured out that posting this BS and preaching to the choir was pointless.

This is a news site (primarily geared to OSes and software) and this is certainly relevant news.

Patent trolls are doing considerable damage and formal requests to the FTC by large corporations is something of which we should all be made aware. The choir may need to sing loudly in order to be heard over the mindless drones who create policy.

Patent trolls are doing considerable damage and formal requests to the FTC by large corporations is something of which we should all be made aware. The choir may need to sing loudly in order to be heard over the mindless drones who create policy.

As even Thom himself pointed out in the article I linked to, you can read patent-related articles and 'sing' until you're blue in the face, and it ain't gonna make a damn bit of difference.